Briefly: The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has accused the International Energy Association (IEA) of “finger pointing” (an accusation which itself kinda sounds like finger pointing).
Tension between the oil sector’s two key bodies bubbled over last month when OPEC (which represents oil sellers) announced surprise oil cuts, driving a spike in oil prices that angered the IEA (which represents oil buyers).
So when the IEA objected, OPEC fired off this sassy burn: “If anything will lead to future volatility it is the IEA’s repeated calls to stop investing in oil”.
Intrigue’s take: The IEA and OPEC have long been the Kanye and Taylor Swift of the oil sector, with a public feud going back years.
The IEA says there’s no place for new oil projects on the path towards net zero emissions. But OPEC says we need investment in both fossil fuel and renewable projects to avoid energy shortages during the transition.
So there’s broad agreement about the end destination, but real disagreement on how we get there. And the politics of all that are bound to get rockier.
Also worth noting:
- OPEC nations produce about 40% of the world’s crude oil and hold 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves.
- Investment in upstream oil and gas projects increased by 39% in 2022 (in part due to higher costs), the largest year-on-year increase in history.
- This year’s UN climate change conference (COP28) will be held in Dubai and chaired by the CEO of Abu Dhabi’s oil company.
